Sue Bird and Diana Taurasi on the cover of NBA 2K23. Photo: 2K Sports
NBA 2K23 will break a new barrier in gaming by having two WNBA athletes on the cover for the first time, Diana Taurasi told Axios in an interview last month.
Driving the news: WNBA stars Taurasi and Sue Bird will grace the cover of the WNBA edition of 2K23 opposite Michael Jordan, who will be one of two cover athletes for the regular edition of the game, 2K announced Wednesday.
- The WNBA edition, however, will be available only at GameStop.
- It is the second cover in 2K history to honor WNBA players.
- The WNBA edition will feature bonus in-game content with Bird and Taurasi's WNBA jerseys. Bonus content can be delivered in the MyCareer and MyTeam modes.
What they're saying: "It's pretty amazing," Taurasi told Axios. "All my life, I've played video games, especially earlier in my life. And there was nothing like the cover of the game. It just said so much about where that sport was and the legacy it was leaving. And to think that Sue and I are on the cover of 2K, it's pretty amazing because it's just built into basketball culture."
- Taurasi said she would have loved seeing former WNBA stars Cynthia Cooper, Cheryl Miller, Ann Myers, Lisa Leslie and Dawn Staley on the cover of previous video games.
- "There's a lot of players that can carry that crown," she said.
The big picture: NBA 2K has partnered with WNBA stars to donate $100,000 to Every Kid Sports, which gives young girls the opportunity to participate in youth basketball programs.
- Taurasi told Axios the program aims to keep young girls involved in sports.
- "It just helps you develop in so many ways, socially, mentally, physically. And it's a huge thing that we're trying to push," she said.